Soc Psych Exam 2

introspection

Introspection may influence attitudes. • Introspection may fail to capture the full cause of our attitudes. • Introspection may cause a rift between your expressed attitude and subsequent behavior, but primarily when the basis of an attitude is affective (emotional) .o In these cases, cognitive (thoughtful) analysis of your reasons for the attitude may yield misleading cognitive

knowledge and resistance

Knowledge ○ Attitudes based on more knowledge are more resistantto change. ○ Having greater knowledge means we can offer more and better counterarguments to defend our attitude.

measuring attitudes

Likert scale (lick-ert or like-ert) A numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme. 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree

moral foundations theory

Moral foundations theory (explore these more in the textbook) • A theory proposing that there are five evolved, universal moral domainsin which specific emotions guide moral judgments o Care/harm (do you care about suffering of others?) o Fairness/cheating (do you care about others being fair?) o Loyalty/betrayal (are you committed to your group?) o Authority/subversion (what is my place in the hierarchy?) o Purity/degradation (avoiding socially impure ideas)

global vs. specific attributions

The degree to which the cause is seen as affecting other domains in life or is restricted to affecting one specific domain ex: not smart (global—The Hangover) vs. bad at math (specific--Superman) **significant academic implications

stable vs. unstable attributions

The degree to which the cause is seen as fixed or as something that is temporary ex. moody all the time (fixed/stable—Sadness character, Inside Out)) vs. bad mood due to bad exam score (temporary/unstable--Christiana Yang )

culture and FAE

The fundamental attribution error is more widespread and pronounced for Westerners than for Asians. ○ Westerners pay little attention to situational factors in circumstances in which Asians pay considerable attention to them and grant their influence.

emotions influence perception

The idea that emotions influence perception is found in color-based metaphors portraying emotions as lenses throughwhich we perceive our circumstances. • Sadness is "blue." • Anger makes us see "red." • Trend to paint walls yellow. • "Friendly flower

cognitive dissonance theory

Theory that inconsistencies among a person's thoughts, sentiments, and actions cause an aversive emotional state(dissonance) that leads to efforts to restore consistency. the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort we feel when two of our thoughts are inconsistent

counterfactual thoughts

These are thoughts of what might have, could have, or should have happened "if only" something had occurred differently.

peripheral route

Through the ELM's peripheral route, people primarily attend toperipheral aspects of a message—relatively superficial, easy-toprocess features of a persuasive communication that aretangential to the persuasive information itself (such as itslength or the expertise or attractiveness of the source of themessage).

underestimating our own biases

We are likely to show greater endorsement of the firststatement. The media tends to have a weaker effect on public attitudesthan we expect .Consistent with research showing that people more easilyrecognize the effects of bias on the attitudes or judgementsof others while failing to see the effect of biases on our ownattitudes. People must believe that they are less susceptible to mediapersuasive attempts than others.

emotions influence broader judgments

We perceive events in ways that are consistent with the emotions we're currently feeling. • Emotions also can influence broader judgments, such as our sense that our circumstances are fair or safe, or unfair and dangerous. • Example: receive bad news—then dislike your next class • "I'm in a bad mood!"

selective evaluation

We tend to evaluate information in biased ways to supportour preexisting opinion. o For instance, when people were presented with results ofstudies favoring or opposing their positions on the deathpenalty, they believed the studies that supported theirposition and questioned those studies that didn't

Psychologists believe happiness has two measurable components. (subjective well being

• First, there is life satisfaction, or how well you think your life is going in general. • Then there is emotional well-being, which refers to then tendency to experience more positive emotions than negative emotions at any moment in time, or over a given length of time.

preexisting attitudes

may resist change by guiding how information is attended to, interpreted, and remembered. For instance, a study found that students who were infavor of legalizing marijuana preferred to listen tostrong arguments in favor of their position andarguments against their position that were easy torefute.

elaboration likelihood model

o A model of persuasion maintaining that there are two different routes to persuasion: the central route and the peripheral route

The fundamental attribution error and perceptions of theadvantaged and disadvantaged

o An inferential problem we face in our daily lives is deciding how much credit to give to people who are succeeding in life and how much blame to direct at those who are not. o Blame vs. credit

attractivness

o Attractive spokespeople are more persuasive, even for topics completely unrelated to attractiveness. o Effects of attractiveness are through the peripheral route: attractive people are rated more favorably, and those favorable feelings become associated with the message.

need for cognition

o Drive to think deeply about judgments o People high in need for cognition are more persuaded bycentral route messages than by peripheral routemessages.

fear

o Fear messages contain vivid information and can be verypersuasive. o But fear messages are most effective when combinedwith instructions on how to avoid negative outcomes.

messages quality

o High-quality messages are more persuasive in general,especially for people who are strong in motivation andability. o More attitude change will result if the conclusions areexplicit in the message.

culture

o It can be important to tailor a message to fit the norms,values, and outlook of a particular cultural group

yale school approach to persuasion

o Persuasive messages have three components: The who, or the source of the message The what, or the content of the message The whom, or the target of the message

certainty

o Sources who express their views with certainty and confidence tend to be more persuasive. o If your goal is to persuade someone, be sure to expresslots of confidence.

self serving attributional bias

o This the tendency to attribute failure and other bad events to external circumstances, and to attribute success and other good events to oneself. For instance, athletes may attribute losses to bad referees but attribute victories to talent and hard work . Reduce cognitive dissonance (refer back to social self)

kurt lewin

pointed out that behavior is always a function of both the person and the situation.

motivation, ability, and central route to persuasion

• For persuasion to occur via the central route, we have to be both motivated and able to engage in more in-depth processing. If either (or both) is lacking, persuasion generally relies on peripheral cues. • For long-lasting attitude change, persuasion through the central route is preferable.

negative consequences

• Freely chosen inconsistent behaviors may not cause dissonance if there was no negative consequence of the behavior. o Lying may not cause dissonance if the person doesn't believe what you say anyway. • If nothing happened as a result, there is nothing to rationalize .• This is an example of how the social influence kicks in

duration neglect

• Giving relatively less importance to the length of an emotional experience, whether pleasurable or unpleasant, in judging and remembering the overall experience

just world hypothesis

the belief that people get what they deserve in life and deserve what they get .■ Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. ○ Fundamental attribution errors may be reassuring because they help us feel less vulnerable to external factors that influence our life outcomes.

persuasion

thoughts and behaviors from soc psych def

attitude

• An evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion that includes three components :o Affect (emotion—like/dislike) o Behavior (behaviors surrounding the attitude) o Cognition (knowledge and beliefs about the attitude object; rationalization

implicit attitude measure

• An indirect measure of attitudes that does not involve a self-report (when there is reason people may be unwilling or unable to report their true feelings or behavior)

facial expressions may be innate

• Blind and sighted athletes show similar facial expressions of pride after winning a competition.

free choice

• Choosing to engage in a behavior that is inconsistent with beliefs will cause dissonance. • Forced behavior does not cause dissonance, since the reason for the behavior is clear ("I didn't have a choice"). • There is no need to rationalize behaviors we didn't choose.

changing thoughts

• Cognitive dissonance can be reduced by changing thoughts,feelings, or behavior in order to make them consistent. o For instance, smoking may cause dissonance because it is bad forhealth and most people want to be healthy. o Dissonance can be reduced by quitting smoking

knowing our place in groups

• Displays of such emotions as anger can increase social power within a group. o Linked to higher perceptions of social status and more power innegotiations

Foreseeability

• Dissonance may not occur if the negative consequence was not something thatcould be foreseen. o For instance, if yougive someone foodthey are allergic to butyou had no prior knowledge of theallergy, then you haveno reason to rationalize your behavior.

insufficiant justification

• Dissonance may occur when the reason for a behavior is weak or unclear. o Payment of $1 may be insufficient justification for lying. o Annoying an adult may be insufficient punishment to resist playing with a favorite toy. • With sufficient justification (that is, more money, larger threat), the behavior doesn't need to be rationalized.

evolution and culture different explanations

• Emotional responses may be innate and universal, but cultures may have different emotional accents and display rules.

evolutionary explanation for emotions

• Emotions are biologically based behavioral adaptationsmeant to promote survival and reproduction. • Physiological responses to emotions (facial expressions,heart rate, breathing, vocalizations, and so on) should becross-culturally universal.

cultural explanation for emotion

• Emotions are influenced by views of self, social values,and social roles, which vary from culture to culture .• Emotions should be expressed in different ways indifferent cultures.

universality of facial expressions in primates

• Human anger resembles other primates' threat displays. • When playing, chimpanzees have a "relaxed open-mouth display" that resembles human laughter. • Human embarrassment resembles the appeasement displays of other social mammals.

Demographic factors of happier individuals

• More successful social relationships • Religious engagement • Age and gender are relatively unimportant. • Money only increases happiness among those withannual incomes less than $75,000. • People are happier in countries where individual rightsand economic opportunities are available.

affective forecasting

• Predicting future emotions, such as whether an event will result in happiness or anger or sadness, and for how long o For instance, how happy or unhappy we'd be after a romantic breakup • Affective forecasting is often incorrect. o People often assume that they will like or dislike a future event more than they actually do when it occurs .o Getting my PhD.

forced compliance

• Subtly compelling people to behave in a manner that is inconsistent with their beliefs, attitudes, or values, in orderto elicit dissonance, and therefore a change in their originalviews

response latency

• The amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, such as an attitude question • Automatic vs. controlled

central route

According to the ELM, the central route to persuasion occurs when people think carefully and deliberately about the content of a persuasive message, attending to its logic and the strength of its arguments, as well as to related evidence and principles

darwins hypothesis

• Emotions are universal. o All humans have the same facial muscles. o Since humans share an evolutionary history with othermammals, most recently primates, our emotionally expressive behaviors should resemble those of other species. o Blind individuals, lacking the rich visual input a culture provides related to how to display emotion, will still show expressions similar to those of sighted people. The Universality of Facial Expression

focal emotions

• Emotions that are especially common within a particular culture o Societies with a culture of honor may express more anger atinsults

external vs. internal attributions

• External attribution- Students tend to make external attributions for their failures ("The questions were ambiguous"; "The professor is a sadist") .• Internal attribution so Students tend to make internal attributions for their success ("The hard work paid off"; "I'm smart").

promoting commitment

• First, the expression of certain emotions signals our sincere commitment to others' well-being. • Second, emotions can motivate us to put aside our ownself-interest and act in ways that prioritize the welfare ofothers.

emotions and social cognition

- Emotions can influence how we process information andmake judgments. o Emotions can influence judgments by being taken asadditional information about the judgment. o What if you are in a good mood or bad mood?

causes of attribution error

- Salient situations o Research suggests that we do focus on context whenmaking causal attributions.

three components of attitude

A (Affect), B (Behaviors), and C (Cognition & rationalization)

emotion

A brief, specific response, both psychological and physiological, that helps people meet goals, including social goals

display rule

A culturally specific rule that governs how, when, and to whom people express emotion

attribution theory

An umbrella term used to describe the set of theoretical accounts of how people (1) assign causes to the events around them, and the (2) effects of their causal assessments

taking advantage of cognitive dissonance

Arousing techniques used at car dealerships Often used by sales people Want a customer to spend a lot of time on the lot, do as much 'work' (for examplespending time, completing a lot of 'preliminary, no obligation' paperwork and testdrives) as they look for a car .More effort expended, the more effort the customer needs to 'justify'. Aaronson's research: if we spend a lot of effort for nothing, we feel foolish anddissonance is aroused. Dissonance is so powerful that some people may buy a car just so they will not feelthe dissonance and feel foolish.

message characteristics

Aspects, or content, of a persuasive message, including the quality of the evidence and the explicitness of its conclusions

predicting behavior from attitudes

Attitudes may be poor predictors of behavior

rationalize behavior

Because behaviors cannot be taken back, cognitive dissonanc eoften causes changes in thoughts and/or feelings to rationalize behaviors. • Difficult choices can induce cognitive dissonance. • Dissonance can be aroused by the inconsistency of accepting the negatives of one choice while rejecting the positives of the other choice. • Moving, choosing BU for a college • Festinger: only after an irrevocable decision has been made(voting, purchases, moving)

what predicts what?

Behaviors are better predictors of attitudes. (automatic processing) Attitudes are surprisingly poor predictors of behaviors

audience characteristics

Characteristics of those who receive a persuasivemessage, including need for cognition, mood, age, andaudience size and diversity

adding thoughts

Cognitive dissonance can also be reduced by adding thoughts, feelings, or behaviors to reduce apparentin consistencies. o For instance, many people may find it too difficult to quit smoking .o Dissonance can be reduced by adding such thoughts as "My grandfather smoked every day and he lived to be 100 yearsold," or, "Yes, I know it's bad for me, but it helps me relax."

dissonance universal among culture

Cognitive dissonance may be universal across cultures but may be aroused by different situations. • Euro-Canadians' cognitive dissonance may result from threats to how people see themselves .• Asian-Canadians' cognitive dissonance may occur from threats to how people believe they are seen by others.

emphasize positives

Decision dissonance typically is resolved by emphasizing the positives and minimizing the negatives of the selected choice. • Also resolved by emphasizing the negatives of the unselected choices and minimizing the positives

agenda control

Efforts of the media to select certain events and topics to emphasize, thereby shaping which issues and events people think are important

nonverbal measure

Example: degree of physical closeness to another person response to a dog

psychological measure

Example: increased heart rate or sweaty palms in response to an attitude object

rationalizing something that cant be undone

For instance, choosing between living in a big city or small town • If the big city is chosen, people may emphasize how great it is to go to restaurants and museums and minimize how frustrating the traffic is. • If the small town is chosen, people may emphasize how great it is to not deal with traffic and minimize not being able to go to fancy restaurants or museums.

central vs peripheral route

For persuasion to occur via the central route, we have to be both motivated and able to engage in more in-depth processing. If either (or both) is lacking, persuasion generally relies on peripheral cues. • For long-lasting attitude change, persuasion through the central route is preferable.

Mismatch between General Attitudes and Specific Targets

General attitudes may not match specific targets. • Attitudes are more accurate predictors of behavior when specific attitudes toward a specific behavior are measured.(Ajzen, 1987) • Donating to PBS. Watching Arthur.

patterns in errors

Our causal attributions are occasionally subject to predictable errors and biases.

consequences of attribution error

People, including employers and college admissions officers, often assume they can learn a lot about a person's traits and abilities from a 30-minuteunstructured interview. However, interviews reveal only the person's apparent traits and abilities in a single situation.

explanatory dimensions- interval vs. external

The degree to which the cause is linked to the self or to the external situation ex: bad driver (self/internal) vs.bad weather (external)

immune neglect

• The tendency for people to underestimate their capacity to be resilient in responding to difficult life events, whichleads them to overestimate the extent to which life'sproblems will reduce their personal well-being. • Example: Divorce • Painful, difficult experiences often are less upsetting thanwe expect them to be. o For instance, people often expect relationship breakups to bemore traumatic and depressing than they actually are.

effort justification

• The tendency to reduce dissonance by justifying the time, effort, or money devoted to something that turned out to be unpleasant or disappointing .• Greater effort expended leads to more dissonance and more attempts to rationalize behavior examples: Club initiations o A study found that women who had to undergo the most severe initiation to join a discussion group reported the most liking for the group, even though the discussion was actually uninteresting .• Fraternity hazings o Fraternities with more severe initiations have more loyal members .• "Sweet lemons rationalization" o People may think "It's not so bad after all" to justify a costly or unpleasant effort.

terror management theory

• The theory that people deal with the potentially crippling anxiety associated with the knowledge of the inevitability of death by striving for symbolic immortality through preserving valued cultural worldviews and believing they have lived up to their standards

source characteristics

○ Characteristics of the person who delivers a persuasive message, such as attractiveness, credibility, and certainty

causal attribution

○ Linking an event to a cause, such as inferring that a personality trait is responsible for a behavior (explaining 'WHY') ○ About ourselves AND others ○ Attributions greatly affect our thoughts, feelings, and future behaviors exmaples: homeless=alcoholic accident=bad driver

mood

○ Messages are more persuasive when they match themood of the receiver .■ Optimistic messages work best on happy people.

credibility

○ People who are seen as knowledgeable and trust worthy are more persuasive. ○ However, noncredible sources can change attitudes through the sleeper effect. ■ An effect that occurs when a persuasive message from an unreliable source initially exerts little influence but later causes attitudes to shift

pessimistic attribution style

○ This involves internal, stable, global attributions that are habitually made in response to negative events .■ "It's my fault"; "I'll never be able to do it"; "I'm no good at anything" ● Pessimistic attribution styles predict lower grades and poorer physical health later in life.

effect media has on our attitudes

○ This is difficult to study because media is so pervasive,it's hard to establish specific causal relationships. ○ However, several studies have shown that, surprisingly,the effects of media appear very weak.

fundamental attribution error

○ This is the failure to recognize the importance of situational influences on behavior, and the corresponding tendency to overemphasize the importance of dispositions on behavior. ○ Trait = disposition; State= situation ■ For instance, inferences may be made about someone's true personality even when we are aware that their behavior resulted from an assigned role. ex: driving recklessly

vividness

○ When information is vivid—colorful, interesting, andmemorable—it tends to be more effective. ○ Identifiable victim effect ■ The tendency to be more moved by the vivid plight of a singleindividual than by a more abstract number of people

age

○ Younger people are more persuadable than older people. ■ Older people may have strong and long-held attitudes. ○ Children may be most vulnerable to persuasion attempts.

explanatory

● A person's habitual way of explaining events, typically assessed along three dimensions :internal/external stable/unstable global/specific

dual process approach to persuasion

● The literature on persuasion suggests that there is nosimple, one-solution-fits-all means of persuasion. ● Instead, persuasion theorists propose that there are twobasic ways of trying to persuade people, or two "routes" topersuasion